John William Waterhouse The Lady of Shalott painting

John William Waterhouse The Lady of Shalott painting
Leonardo da Vinci The Last Supper painting
Russia's reputation as home to some of the world's most gifted and devious hackers was underscored last month when Microsoft Corp. disclosed that passwords used to access its coveted source code had been sent from the company network to an e-mail address in St. Petersburg.It is by no means clear whether a Russian was behind the break-in — that e-mail account could have been managed remotely. But that doesn't stop Russian hackers — "khakeri," or "vzlomshchiki (house-breakers)" — from puffing out their chests at such exploits. In a recent poll on a hacker-oriented Web site, 82 percent said Russia had the world’s best hackers; only 5 percent said Americans were better.But the bravado is laced with frustration.